Changing the law would also allow the federal government to avoid having to make a decision on whether to prosecute comedian Jan Böhmermann, who is being pursued by Turkish President Recept Tayyip Erdogan for a “slanderous poem” he read out on air, Oppermann said.

Critics say that the battle over Böhmermann is just one more indication of why Germany and its EU neighbours shouldn't be working with Erdogan, who has presided over a crackdown on press freedom and opposition politics.

CORRECTION: This story earlier made reference to an interview supposedly given by Jan Böhmermann to former Bild editor Kai Diekmann. It now appears that the interview was a fake. We have removed the quote and regret the error.